RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
Taking on a listed property is never easy, but Anna Davies has restored her historic townhouse and even managed to give it a modern twist
Anna Davies and her husband Mark had been looking for a while to buy somewhere on the coast and eventually found a tired Grade ll-listed townhouse in Brighton. The couple, who have two sons, Danny, 18, and Jack, 15, knew that if they bought it there would be limitations and challenges on what they could do, both internally and externally. ‘The house was split into two when we first viewed it and it had a self-contained flat in the basement, with three more floors above,’ says Anna. ‘Despite the problems, we were confident it could be returned back to its original glory because there were so many beautiful original features just waiting to resurface.’
With previous experience of a home renovation, Anna, a graphic designer, appointed trusted interior designer Susan Venn of Susan Venn Design to oversee the project and manage any unusual issues relating to the age of the house. ‘Susan is very confident at interpreting a brief and she immediately recognised the importance of maintaining the heritage of the house for the future,’ says Anna. ‘Due to its status, we weren’t allowed to change the layout or put new lights on the walls or remove the architrave and cornices. However, we knew we could still create a modern interior with a vibrant and energetic colour scheme.’
Once the basement had been overhauled and integrated back into the rest of the house, there was a lot of paint stripping to tackle, particularly on the window panels. ‘The detail in the panelling had been lost due to the many layers of white gloss over the years and Susan advised us to strip everything back to reveal what was underneath,’ says Anna. ‘We decided to paint them in a much darker, heritage colour to bring out the detail and then continued with the colour on the original window frames.’
With her love of colour evident throughout the house, it’s clear to see that Anna is unafraid of vibrant shades and unusual combinations. ‘The lime green cabinets in the drawing room
were suggested by Susan and were based on a much larger sideboard by Julian Chichester,’ says Anna. ‘We decided that this room would have a moody edge to make it cosy in the winter and despite the darker wallcovering, it still feels energising with the accents of green. I was also keen to have a single blind at the window as I don’t like heavy curtains but Susan suggested a more European look with unlined curtains in a beautiful fabric and I’m absolutely delighted with how the final result looks.’
The rest of the house is much lighter in tone with teal and pink in the basement dining room much more in keeping with the brightness of the seaside and a very particular shade of coastal green in the kitchen. ‘Susan worked hard to find exactly the right colour for the kitchen with matching tiles adding texture,’ explains Anna.
Throughout the house, the attention to detail is noticeable with beautifully restored skirtings and cornicing, mirrors made from Victorian glass cloches in the drawing room and a vanity unit that can only be described as a bespoke piece of furniture. ‘We really appreciate good craftsmanship and quality pieces that will age well, just like the house,’ says Anna. ‘We don’t like anything that’s just for show, as we feel a house with such integrity deserves to be loved and cared for authentically.’
Despite the challenges of a listed property, there’s no question that this interior has been sympathetically restored with subtle design solutions and a flair for colour, giving the family home a brand new lease of life.
decorating advice ‘With window dressings, choose quality fabric and leave them unlined to see how beautiful they look when the sun filters through’